Mo Mowlam was one of the most popular politicians of recent times. A straight-talker who pushed ahead peace in Northern Ireland and, among her many memorable quotes, told Ian Paisley to "fuck off", Tony Blair's tribute to the former cabinet minister as "one of the most remarkable and colourful personalities ever to come into politics" was one few could disagree with. We have an obituary, tributes from the political world and space to leave your own. Martin Kettle will be writing later on Ms Mowlam's political outlook and legacy.
In other news, we will be looking at the future for West Bank settlers as the Gaza Strip withdrawal nears its end and, here on Newsblog, writing on US senators Hillary Clinton and John McCain's joint warning on global warming. The interesting thing here is not the bipartisanship – for Republican Mr McCain it is something of a speciality, and Ms Clinton also attempts to reach out beyond her Democrat base. What is fascinating is that the two people who could very realistically hold their parties' nominations for the White House in 2008 were amid melting permafrost in Alaska, telling US voters that evidence for climate change was too stark to ignore.
